Tag: nurses

When nurse Kitty Nelson becomes a surrogate for her sister, her best friend, paramedic Joe Harkness, is right there for her. But as Kitty’s pregnancy blossoms, Joe begins to see her in a very different light! Finally admitting a connection he’s never felt with anyone else, is it too late to convince Kitty they’re meant to be?

This is my current release and it is also one of the books on our VALENTINE’S DAY GIVEAWAY! Don’t miss out, it is running until the 13th February 2018. If you haven’t entered yet here is the link ….

Kitty was starting to feel more like her normal self. Her morning sickness was abating and, at twenty-two weeks, she was now feeling like she thought she was supposed to – a glowing, pregnant woman. She hadn’t gained much weight yet except for in her breasts but she felt voluptuous for the first time in her life and it was making her feel very feminine. She knew it was hormonal but she was constantly thinking about sex. She hadn’t had sex in six months, nearly seven, and she was beginning to think she might go crazy unless she did something about it.

And it seemed she wasn’t the only one as she sat with Lisa and a couple of other nurses at the Manly Pier Hotel and the talk turned, inevitably, to men and the lack of good ones.

Kitty was enjoying the evening. It was good to be out and nice to have the focus off the pregnancy for a little while. At home it had become the number one topic of conversation and she was looking forward to talking about the things she used to discuss with her girlfriends. The pub was busy, the line at the bar a couple of people deep. It was her turn to buy the drinks but she didn’t feel like fighting her way through the crowd. Like a knight in shining armour Joe appeared and offered to place their order.

‘You and Joe aren’t an item?’ one of the nurses asked, continuing the conversation as she watched Joe walk to the bar.

‘No. Just friends,’ Kitty replied.

‘With benefits?’ Victoria asked.

‘No.’ She shook her head.

‘He’s hot.’

He did look good tonight she thought although she had to pretend she hadn’t noticed. He wore his favourite jeans, they were her favourites on him too, they hugged his arse and highlighted what she considered to be one of his best features. A white t-shirt hugged his chest. It was a simple outfit but it showcased his body to perfection. He was fit and muscular with just the right amount of confident swagger she thought as she watched him leaning on the bar. His dark hair was casually perfect, he looked like he hadn’t made a huge amount of effort, as if he got out of bed looking like this – relaxed and gorgeous with a cheeky grin for whichever female he was talking to.

She had to agree with Victoria. Joe was hot but she’d long ago taught herself to ignore it. They were friends, first and foremost, and she was too afraid of ruining the status quo to ever test the boundaries of that friendship. She needed him as a friend and she wasn’t going to risk their relationship by blurring the lines.

‘Is he single?’ Victoria asked as they watched Joe return to their table.

‘He’s single,’ she admitted.

He delivered their drinks with a smile, making the dimple in his chin flash and Kitty noticed that Victoria couldn’t take her eyes of him. He didn’t stay, choosing instead to go out to the deck where some of his mates were drinking, and Victoria’s gaze followed his path through the crowd.

All the talk about men and, more specifically, Joe, had Kitty flustered. She couldn’t think about him and sex in the same conversation. She’d trained herself not to and besides, he’d never even hinted that he’d be willing to cross that line in the sand.

But what if he did? What would she do?

She shook her head.

She’d be crazy to even consider it. She wasn’t prepared to risk the friendship of a lifetime for a brief encounter between the sheets. Even if her hormones were going crazy there were others ways to scratch that itch. Kitty drained her water glass and stood up as the DJ played his first track. The pub was full of good-looking young men, Joe was not the only eligible bachelor here, she thought as she dragged Lisa onto the dance floor.

Joe could see Kitty on the dance floor from his vantage point on the deck. She looked particularly beautiful tonight. He knew she was suffering a little from morning sickness but she had a pregnancy glow and by the evening she was obviously feeling, and looking, better. Her hair was thick and glossy and her skin was luminous. She moved well, she was the epitome of someone who danced as if no one was watching and he took advantage of that fact to watch her.

She was normally slight but the pregnancy had added some curves to her bust and her hips he thought as he watched her hips move to the music. She let herself go to the rhythm of the song and Joe let his eyes follow her movements. There was something hypnotic, almost sensual, about her dancing.

He shook his head and turned away. He felt awkward and exposed now, he wasn’t used to thinking about Kitty in that sense. Of course he’d noticed little things about her before, the depth of her brown eyes, the curve of her lips, the twin dimples in her cheeks, but he’d never let himself entertain an image of her as a sexual being before. He’d always kept her firmly in the friend zone.

He turned his gaze to Lisa instead as he tried to get the image of Kitty’s hips out of his head and watched as the girls were joined by a couple of guys – strangers – or at least they were strangers to him. Not that who Kitty danced with was any of his business but Joe felt his hackles rise anyway as his protective, or should that be territorial, instincts came to the fore.

Kitty danced for a few more minutes but when Lisa’s boyfriend arrived she excused herself and headed to the bar, followed by one of the guys. Joe’s protective instincts kicked up another notch. If this guy wanted a chance with Kitty he’d have to go through him first.

He pushed his way through the crowd and arrived at Kitty’s side just as the guy asked. ‘What can I get you?’

‘She’ll have a water,’ Joe answered.

The guy looked from Kitty to Joe. ‘I wasn’t asking you.’

‘And yet, I’m answering.’ His protective instincts were on high alert now, Kitty didn’t need a stranger buying her drinks, and as the guy half-turned away from Joe to face Kitty, obviously not about to listen to Joe, he couldn’t resist adding, ‘She’s pregnant, she’ll have a water.’

He saw the guy glance down at Kitty’s stomach. There were no visible signs of her pregnancy yet, not unless you knew her. Joe knew that her breasts were bigger and she was a little softer, a little more rounded, more voluptuous, but she was wearing a loose sleeveless top and jeans. All anyone else would notice was the size of her breasts. And Joe didn’t want other guys noticing that.

Her skin glowed. She looked beautiful. And cross.

She was glaring at Joe but he pretended not to notice.

The guy looked back at Joe. He looked irritated too but Joe didn’t care. ‘Are you the father?’ he asked.

‘No.’

‘Then what business is it of yours?’

‘It’s her brother-in-law’s baby,’ Joe stated flatly.

The look on the stranger’s face was priceless. If Kitty wasn’t still glaring at him Joe would have laughed. The guy looked completely horrified and he disappeared fast. Just as Joe had hoped.

‘What are you doing?’ Kitty turned on him.

‘What are you doing?’ he countered.

‘I was talking. He was cute.’ She was watching him walk away. ‘And now he thinks I’m a complete crazy.’

‘He wasn’t cute,’ Joe said. ‘And he looked about eighteen. No wonder he ran.’ He couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face but Kitty was still cross.

‘Shit, Joe, I haven’t had sex in almost seven months, my hormones are going wild and I’m about to burst with frustration. I wasn’t going to marry the guy. It’s just sex.’

Just sex.

Joe saw red. He’d never understood that expression until now. Blackness encroached onto the edges of his vision as a red haze washed over the centre. His scientific background told him that the visual disturbance was due to a rush of blood through his body, and he would swear he could feel his blood pressure building, but he had a burning desire to punch something.

He didn’t want to think about Kitty having sex and certainly not with strangers. The very idea horrified him.

He was aware of other men looking at her with interest and listening to their conversation. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his vision as he gripped her elbow and steered her out to the relative quiet of the deck before any other strangers offered to help her out.

‘I was only talking to him,’ she argued, not prepared to let the discussion drop. ‘What’s the matter with you?’

‘You were talking to him but thinking about sex,’ he replied. ‘You don’t know anything about him.’ He knew he sounded like an irrational fool, Kitty was an adult and could make her own decisions, but he really didn’t want her thinking about having sex with strangers.

Kitty rolled her eyes. ‘If you hadn’t scared him off I might have found out more about him. That’s how meeting people works, Joe. You meet, you talk, you decide if you like each other.’

‘And then you have sex.’

‘That was my plan.’

‘But you’re pregnant.’

‘So? You think people don’t have sex when they’re pregnant?’

He didn’t want to think about her having sex, pregnant or otherwise, and not with strangers, that was for damn sure.

She was grinning at him now, the little dimples in her cheeks twinkling. He didn’t want her to think he was being funny, he was deadly serious. And he wanted her to take him seriously.

He was sorely tempted to offer his services but bit his tongue just in time. There was no way in hell that was a good idea.

She was waiting for his answer. Looking up at him with her big brown eyes, making it difficult to remember just why taking her in his arms and taking her to bed would be so terrible.

‘I don’t want to talk about you having pregnant sex,’ he said as he tried futilely not to imagine what her lips would taste like. Tried not to imagine how her breasts would feel under his fingers.

‘Why not?’

They were standing very close now and the noise from the bar receded into the distance as Kitty continued to look up at him, a challenge in her dark eyes.

Why not what? He couldn’t remember what he’d said. He couldn’t think straight when she looked at him like that. She was all lips and eyes and breasts and he was a mess.

Their conversation was forgotten as he stared at her lips. He thought about kissing her soundly, showing her what it was like to be kissed by someone who knew her well. Who cared about her. Showing her how much better that was than kissing a complete stranger. Why had he never kissed her before. He couldn’t remember.

Everything receded, the noise, the crowd, until there was just the two of them.

He searched for a good reason not to kiss her now and couldn’t think of one. The urge to kiss her was overpowering and he didn’t know if he could resist.

Where doctors to the stars work miracles by day—and explore their hearts’ desires by night…

Seduced by the Heart Surgeon by Carol Marinelli

Falling for the Single Dad by Emily Forbes

Tempted by Hollywood’s Top Doc by Louisa George

Perfect Rivals by Amy Ruttan

The Prince and the Midwife by Robin Gianna

My book is #6 – His Pregnant Sleeping Beauty

WATCH FOR TWO MORE TITLES NEXT MONTH FROM Amalie Berlin and Tina Beckett!

As doctors to the stars, these world-class medics are hand-picked by renowned plastic surgeon, Dr James Rothsberg, Head of the ‘Hills’. His clients expect the very best, and James delivers that and more – his team are global specialists in their field, unrivalled in their expertise and patient care.

Yet behind closed doors, when the pressure is on, sizzling passions run high – and for these dazzling docs, their biggest challenges are yet to come!

Passion, glamour, desire and drama …

So where does the amnesia come in? Thankfully it doesn’t. But when I read the bible for the entire project and the story assigned to me, my first thought was – she’ll wake up with amnesia, oh no! I’ve never written an amnesia story, and to be honest, it is the trope (hook) I like least for books. All I can say is, I thanked my lucky stars when my character woke up asking “Is my baby okay?” Whew!

Here is a sampling of the International covers. #1 is UK, #2 is Australia, #3 is US, and #4 is UK e-book version.

I hope you’ll give all eight of the books a read. We had a great time working as a group to iron out little things, and to make sure we got our parts of the overall continuity arc right leading up to James and Mila’s story in book eight.

If you read any of the books, why not write a short review and make an author very happy.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO HOLLYWOOD? SHARE A LITTLE OF YOUR TRIP IN COMMENTS. OR IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN BUT WOULD LIKE TO, TELL US WHY. OR IF YOU’VE READ ANY OF THE BOOKS, TELL US WHICH ONES! OR, HAVE YOU EVER HAD AMNESIA? (lol – in other words comment…on anything. Thanks)

Once in a blue moon (to go forward from Amy’s latest blog) I get an opportunity that is too good to pass up. It happened last fall with The Mammoth Book editor Trish Telep when she asked if I’d be interested in participating in a multi-author anthology. Fortunately for me, she didn’t accept my first reply, and when she asked again I decided to join several of my fellow Medical Romance authors, and many more fabulous authors from all genres, in contributing to the book.

We were given a word limit of 12K. Having never written short before, except for a few short stories I wrote for Woman’s World magazine at lK (only one of which ever got published) I worried I couldn’t tell a well rounded story so quickly. As it turned out, I decided to write three acts (or chapters) each highlighting a piece of the bigger story.

When the story begins Ellen and Adam Deed, both ER doctors, are married but separated. My job in three chapters was to show the passion they still felt for each other, explain the reason they separated, and come up with a way to get them back together. YIKES!

I went the dramatic route with IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE. I tortured my characters by asking these questions: What one thing could tear a loving couple apart and make forgiving seem impossible? What one thing could make Adam, a man devoted to his wife, family, and profession turn to drinking and lose hope? What would it take for Ellen to finally forgive Adam and let him back into her heart?

I worried I’d bitten off more than I could chew undertaking their story, but somehow I managed to pull it off in 10K! Reading time approximately fifteen minutes or there about?

If you love the drama of the emergency room, if you want to succumb to completely addictive and highly contagious medical romances, if you like something short to read on your lunch break or before bed, then I hope you’ll check out THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF ER ROMANCE!

When I was growing up I went through all the usual choices of career. First of all I wanted to be a vet. That ambition lasted until I discovered that I would have to put very sick animals to sleep and I underwent a massive change of heart. My next choice was to be a teacher, then an air hostess (yes, that was what it was called back then – flight attendant definitely didn’t have the glamour!) I ran through umpteen different ideas before I finally settled on being a librarian, and no, that didn’t seem glamorous but it did mean – or so I thought! – that I’d get to read lots of wonderful books.

I loved my job and never got bored of doing it. I only gave it up when I decided to write full-time. And since then I have never looked back. I love writing and feel extremely lucky that I can spend my days doing a job I adore. So why would I even consider a change of career? Because this week I have realised just how brilliant doctors and nurses really are.

I was in a coffee shop in town on Monday afternoon, listening in to someone else’s conversation -one of the perks of my job – when a man at the next table collapsed. One minute he was drfinking a cappuccino and the next he was on the floor, gasping for breath. The two ladies I’d been listening to sprang into action. They checked his pulse and breathing then started CPR. By the time the paramedics arrived, he was stable all thanks to them. As they returned to their table, and their cold coffee, I complimented them on their speed and ability but they shrugged it off. They were both doctors at the local hospital, they explained. It was all part of their job.

Deeply impressed, I carried on with my day which included a visit to the hospital. Whilst I was there, another patient suffered a bad reaction to the drugs she was receiving and went into cardiac arrest. Once again, people sprang into action and yet another tragedy was averted. Once again I was impressed.

So if I had my time over again would I choose to be a doctor or a nurse? I’d like to think I would but I’m not sure if I’d be any good at it. You need to be a particular type of person to cope with life and death situations, don’t you? Although I am not someone who panics, I once did a First Aid course and it was the most terrifying thing I have ever done. Waiting for the light on that dummy to flash and prove I was performing the chest compressions effectively really freaked me out!

My admiration for those who spend their lives caring for others is immense. It’s why I think doctors and nurses are the perfect heroes and why I choose to write Medical Romances. But even though I admire them so much, I don’t think I shall be making a career change in the forseable future. I know my limits!

Right, as a little light relief from a basically important subject, here is a photo of my granddaughter Isobel dressed up for World Book Day as Ariel. Enjoy!

Have you ever seen a truly gorgeous man in person and up close? It is a rare treat. We see pictures of great looking movie stars and athletes, but how often do we see them in real life? Sure, we may spot a pretty face in a crowd, but having an ongoing encounter is a whole different ballgame.

I have two memories of being around guys who were so good looking I could barely function. I’m serious! Of course I was much much younger then, but man oh man was it humiliating.

One was a patient. I worked in a clinic at the time, and he needed to come in regularly. I won’t go into why as that is private medical information. Since I was the original nurse to intake him, he always remembered me. At first, I was simply struck by how gorgeous he was and I functioned fine, but as time went by and I saw more and more of him (yes, I admit to daydreaming about him. A lot!) I started falling apart whenever he showed up. It got to the point where I had to ask other nurses to give him his treatment because I wasn’t sure I could function properly around him. Honestly, it was so embarrassing, but the man was that handsome!

The other time was when a whole lot of construction was going on at work and the place was crawling with men. Loud, gregarious, some obnoxious, men. There was always so much noise going on I couldn’t help but look inside the room they were working on when I passed. That’s what got me in trouble. This one time, by chance, my eyes connected with the most incredibly beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. They were bright blue and surrounded by thick black lashes. As my personal camera pulled back I noticed a face to match those eyes, and a head of thick dark brown to the point of almost being black, hair. Fireworks imploded in my chest. I looked away immediately, but darn if every single time I tried to sneak a look at that particular construction worker, I got caught by him! I mean, who could resist such eye candy! For the rest of my life I will remember one particular staring contest we had. It made my knees go weak. Darn, it was humiliating to be susceptible to something as superficial as a gorgeous face.

There. I’ve admitted it. I’m superficial when it comes to beautiful men. No way could I be around them all the time. I’d be useless.

How about you? Ever worked or had to interact with a truly, classically gorgeous man?

It’s been just over a year since I received The Call and was inducted into the Harlequin family. I not only found myself part of the large welcoming community of this publishing superpower, but also part of a smaller, but non-the-less amazing group of women- Medical Romance authors.

Not a day goes by without some kind of contact, an email, some information, a question, advice… and I soon discovered this diverse group of writers were fast becoming (albeit online) friends.

So it was fabulous to actually meet some of them face-to-face at my first RWA conference in Anaheim, Orange County. Traveling from tiny New Zealand to a conference with over 2000 women was a bit daunting so it was nice to have a few familiar names I could seek out.

We’d shared so much about our trials and tribulations, lives etc, but knew little about each other. We had formed impressions, shared laughs and a few tears, but really? How would we get on?

No problem. Meeting these lovely ladies was how I imagined meeting a long time penpal would be. After a few minutes in their company I discovered they were all as warm and funny and spirited as their stories.

So just in case you wondered what happens at one of these romance writing conferences here’s a few photos of our adventures!

First up was a Heartbeat lunch on Wednesday. ‘Heartbeat’ is the RWA chapter for Medical Romance enthusiasts.

Wednesday evening was the literacy signing event- where 400 plus authors signed books for readers for charity-we made over $50,000!

Of course editors are huge parts of our lives, so it was great fun to meet three of our Mills and Boon editors from the UK office too- and they took us out for lunch on Thursday!

M&B editor Lucy Gilmour and Lynne Marshall

As you can see the weather was very kind to us! And the food was divine!

All the food I ate over the week was delicious- but in huge portions! Talk about supersize me! When I first arrived I was embarrassed to be sending half back because I just couldn’t eat it all…but by the end of the week I was asking for seconds!

Melanie Milburne, Fiona Lowe and Tina Beckett

We drank mimosas and ate italian antipasto and talked and talked and talked.

And then we talked some more.

Oh- and throughout all of this we had workshops with esteemed authors and experts in every field of writing and beyond (I went to one particularly interesting- but very gory- lecture by an ER doctor complete with slides of gunshot wounds and head injuries).

Melanie Milburne, Connie Cox and Susan Carlisle

Friday evening was the Harlequin Ball (aka disco) where your trusty medical romance authors danced the evening away- and I mean ALL EVENING! (Those american women sure can dance!!) I have blisters on my blisters!!!

And finally the RITA awards. Think Oscars for romance writers. The highlight of the week!

We had two medical authors nominated for awards (not for their medical books, though)…Sarah Morgan and Fiona Lowe. And they both won! The cheers almost brought down the roof! We are all so proud of their wonderful achievement.

Fiona and RITA!!

Sadly I don’t seem to have photos of either Fiona McArthur or Carol Marinelli but they were with us too- gorgeous as ever!

So I’ve been lucky enough to meet most of the Aussie, Kiwi and US medical authors, next stop- Britain (I wish!)…

Louisa x

Have you ever met up with someone you met online? How did that work for you?

Like this:

Yesterday, I met my friend Charlotte in town for lunch. We meet up every few weeks and spend a couple of hours together, catching up on all our news. As usual, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and came home feeling relaxed and happy.

Good friends are one of life’s gifts and I am fortunate to have some of the very best friends possible, people who have been there for me through the bad times as well as the good. I cannot imagine how empty my life would be without my friends and don’t want to try.

I was thinking about that on the drive home when it struck me that one of the reasons why I love writing Medical Romances so much is because the heroes and heroines are “allowed” to have friends. In fact, the secondary characters in a medical romance play an integral part in the story and that, to my mind, adds an extra dimension to the books.

This is the point where I must hold up my hands and confess that I prefer my romances firmly rooted in reality. I like to write – and read! -about the sort of people I would hope to meet in everyday life. OK, so maybe the heroes are a tad more charismatic and handsome, and the heroines slightly more feisty, but basically they are “real” people, people I would want to get to know, people I would like as my friends.

Obviously, everyone’s taste differs. Many readers love the idea of being swept off their feet by a handsome hero and carried off into the desert, and why not? I enjoy books like that myself at times but my first love is always a book that feels real, a book with characters I can relate to.

So how do you feel? Do you prefer escapism? Or do you enjoy reading about people who could be your friends? I’d love to hear your views.